This invention relates to a method of operating a diaper-producing machine and apparatus and, more particularly, to method and apparatus which make possible the development of "short-count" stacks of diapers at high speed.
Historically, diapers have been folded and introduced into vane-type stackers, "see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,919 and 4,325,475. Vane-type stackers per se are quite well known--see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,324,930.
Disposable diaper-producing machines have become available at higher and higher speeds which have been somewhat limited by the time required to remove diaper stacks from the stackers. This has been addresssed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,919 and 4,325,475 and also is the objective of co-owned application of James F. Campbell, U.S. Ser. No. 506,508, filed June 21, 1983. However, none of these prior approaches was able to deal with the requirement of a "short count". Conventionally, diapers were packed 12 to a box so the time for removal of a dozen diapers at one time from the stacker could generally be tolerated. Now, however, disposable diaper manufacturers desire to put out much smaller units, 5 or 6 diapers per stack and even as low as 2 diapers per stack. Stacks may be packaged 2 or more stacks/package. The approach to dealing with this problem has been to divide the lineal stream of diapers issuing from the diaper producing machine into a plurality of parallel paths. This requires quite complex machinery with the attendant risk of unforeseen breakdown and therefore interruption of the entire line.
With the invention of the Method and Apparatus for Folding Diapers of Johnson and Van Egeren, U.S. Ser. No. 630,647, filed July 13, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,596, it has become possible to arrange stackers in lineal fashion at spaced positions along the diaper discharge path. More particularly, the disarmable blade feature of Johnson and Van Egeren makes possible the unloading of one stacker while one or more other stackers are being loaded--so as to remove all time constraints.
Other objects and advantages of the invention may be seen in the details of construction and operation set forth in the ensuing specification.